FOX’s ‘Gotham’ Pilot Gets Executive Producer, Director

Veteran director Danny Cannon has responded to the bat-signal.

The seasoned executive producer of multiple ‘CSI’ franchises has been tapped to do the same for ‘Gotham,’ in addition to bringing Batman’s hometown to life by directing the pilot. No stranger to police dramas, Cannon created the gritty hour-long ‘Dark Blue’ starring Dylan McDermott for TNT, and directed the pilot for FOX’s supernatural mystery ‘Alcatraz.’ More recently, he’s produced and directed episodes for The CW’s ‘Nikita’ and ‘The Tomorrow People.’

So if credentials were one of your worries about making a Batman-show-without-Batman, you can rest assured it’s taken care of.

FOX announced in the fall that it had acquired the rights from Warner Bros. TV for a series based on ‘The Mentalist’ creator Bruno Heller’s pitch, which will explore the beginnings of Gotham’s legendary Police Commissioner Gordon and the villains that made the city one of the least desired places to visit in the DC universe. ‘Gotham’ comes at a time when Marvel has been making inroads with TV audiences on ABC with ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,’ and a slate of upcoming Netflix series.

Fan response has been mixed, as the concept bears resemblance to the popular ‘Gotham Central’ comic series that ran from 2003-2006, although the book features Batman as a supporting character actively working with the police. The DC prequel strategy has been successful before, with a 10-year run of ‘Smallville’ on The CW that stayed true to the premise of Clark Kent before becoming Superman – no tights and no flights (and a long wait it was).

One question that is still up in the air is whether a young Bruce will be making regular appearances while Gordon is investigating the murder of the Waynes. Perhaps Gordon will be dropping young Bruce off at school alongside his classmates, young-Joker and young-Two-Face.